Publisher's comment

Karl-Heinz Remmers examines the magnificent failure of the Desertec Industrial Initiative and makes the case that arrogance, stupidity and the inability to grasp the concept of decentralized energy led to the fiasco.

Karl-Heinz Remmers makes the case for a powerful global solar alliance to meet ambitious goals, represent common interests, solve international conflicts and act as a bulwark against dominant rival industries and political foes.

Without a doubt, 2012 has been one of the most difficult years for the solar industry in a long time. On one hand, many new markets are opening up due to massively sinking prices for solar energy worldwide. On the other, the high pace of market change has seen bankruptcies and economic problems. The years 2013 and 2014 will likely be characterized by expansion, change and, indeed, collapse. Yet the further development of solar technology is inexorable.

At the start of the vacation period and after the conclusion of the current amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act, the mood in the German photovoltaics industry is more mixed than ever. For many it was "lights out", while others barely manage to meet the altogether still very high demand.

The publisher

Karl-Heinz Remmers has been active in the solar industry for around 20 years. In 1998, he established the Berlin-based Solarpraxis AG. In addition to setting up conference and engineering departments, he launched pv magazine (international), the German-lanuage pv magazine Deutschland, pv magazine China (Chinese) and pv magzine Latin America (Spanish). Furthermore, he has authored and co-authored numerous books dealing with the topics of photovoltaics and solar thermal.